Hear My Heartbeat
by Ander Zanova
Summary: Oliver and Felicity are in for an interesting night after something goes terribly wrong at a rally. Story deals with active shooter situations. (I continued posting this one on AO3)
1. Chapter 1

"Can you hear my heartbeat, Felicity? Just focus on that." He clutched Felicity to his chest as the vehicle darted down the highway. "Dig, we need to get there. Now." Panic was hidden in his voice as he tried hide the shakiness for her sake. "We're almost there. Hang on Felicity." John's voice came from the front seat.

Her head lulled in his arms. "Felicity… Felicity!" Oliver urged. Her eyes fluttered open weakly. "I'm still here… I just… What are we doing? Where are we going?" "The hospital, remember?" "Oh…Okay…" she relaxed back into him.

"John!"

"Two more minutes!"

…

Two days earlier, the world's best hacker, sat at her computer. She was typing away as she snacked on popcorn and a Big Belly Burger milkshake. She rested the drink on he expanded belly. Two more months and they would have a little hacker-vigilante running their lives. They didn't yet know the gender of the baby. Oliver wanted to be surprised, but Felicity was dying to know. At first, she thought that the surprise would be fun, but she quickly realized that all it did was make shopping more difficult.

Thea was already spoiling baby Queen with gifts varying from toys to outfits to an interior designer that she had hired to decorate a room in her loft for when the baby would inevitably stay over.

Curtis had refused to go by anything other than 'Uncle Curtis' for the past two months. And Cisco would visit bi-monthly just to bring Felicity some of her favorite snacks from Central.

Oliver was terrified at the prospect of becoming a father. His existential crises had thrown everyone for a loop, but he became more well-adjusted as time went on. He was on his way to being a perfectly normal dad. Well, other than the whole vigilante thing.

It had been a crazy seven months. The team did a pretty good job of keeping Felicity out of the field, but there were moments when things would go wrong. Like that time that Vandal Savage broke into the Arrow-Cave. They relocated after that. Or the time that Toy Man found out about the baby and tried to send an explosive jack-in-the-box to the shop where Felicity had been getting most of her baby things. But they made it through all of those things mostly unscathed.

As life went on for the team, more and more crooks seemed to find out who Overwatch was and a few made it their mission to take her out. Most of them had taken a step back when she started showing, something about ' _Even criminals shoudln't hurt children.'_ But what the team hadn't expected was that a stray bullet would find its way to her shoulder one night.

…

Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle had been at a mayoral rally. The team had the drill down. Oliver was campaigning for a second term and Felicity and Diggle were there to support him, as always. Thea was running interference with the press and Curtis had been working out technical kinks when it happened.

Some no-name low-life had decided to shoot up the place. He had no specific target in mind, not even Mayor Queen, but something clicked and he lost his mind. Before the speaking had even begun, bullets flew in every direction. Oliver yanked Curtis out of the way of one, Thea guarded the girl that had been interviewing her, then pushed all of the press out the front doors. Felicity reached for the panic button they had hidden on a wall.

A thud. A crack. It took Felicity a second to realize what had happened. Blood gushed from her left shoulder as her knees buckled. She used the wall behind her for support as she slid to the floor.

"Take him out." Captain Lance ordered loudly. A gunshot quickly followed, and the lifeless body of the shooter fell to the floor. As Oliver stood to locate Felicity, a man ran up to her, sliding on his knees and pulling of his shirt as he reached her. He applied a small amount of pressure to the front of the wound with his shirt. "Can you tell me your name?" He asked her. "Felicity Smoak" She replied. "Ok, good. I'm an Emergency Medical Technician. We're gonna get you taken care of." He said. "I'm gonna check for an exit wound, okay?" he explained. She nodded. He gently leaned her forward just far enough to look at the back of her shoulder. No exit wound. That was good as far as blood loss went. Only one wound to deal with.

Oliver found them and darted across the room. "Felicity!" He noticed the man tending to her wound. "Who are you?" Oliver asked. "My name is James Hunter, I'm an EMT with Starling General. An ambulance is already on its way." He replied. "She's lost a lot of blood." He added, looking up at Oliver.

Oliver pressed a button on the earpiece he wore. "Dig. Car to the front of the building. Now. Felicity's been shot." "On it." John answered immediately. They both knew that his driving would get them to the hospital faster than any ambulance in town. They had enough experience to know that, at least.

The ground twisted and spun under her feet as Oliver and and Hunter helped her stand up. Lance noticed them as they assisted her to the car. "Oliver! Is she ok?" he called across the room. "To be determined." Oliver's voice was gruff and to the point. It sounded very similar to the voice he used when he was in costume. "Burrows! Escort Mayor Queen to the hospital." Lance ordered, knowing that Oliver would already have made the decision to take her himself. A young looking officer Burrows darted to his car, flipped on the lights, and sped off as soon as Oliver and Felicity had been safely deposited into the car. Hunter took the passenger seat as Oliver and Felicity climbed in the back. "John Diggle." He introduced himself as he put the car into gear and followed their officer. "James Hunter. EMT." He replied.

Turning to face the backseat he instructed Oliver to keep pressure on the wound. This was knowledge that Oliver already had, but his mind tended to get fuzzy when Felicity was at stake. "Got it." He refocused the pressure he was putting on her shoulder. She gasped at the new compression on the swollen joint. Blood loss is a bad enough problem to deal with, but blood loss mixed with pregnancy? Not good. The more blood she lost, the less her body would focus on the baby. Everyone knew this, though no one said anything.

"Ok, we're almost there." Oliver lied, knowing that the hospital was a good fifteen minutes away, at best. "Thanks." She replied weakly, her voice cracking. He could see her eyes dart around the cab as she tried to sustain her bearings. Dizziness and shock, combined with a lack of blood made maintaining consciousness that much more difficult.

"Can you hear my heartbeat? Focus on that." He clutched Felicity to his chest as the vehicle darted down the highway. He grasped one of her hands. "Keep her conscious." Hunter ordered.

"Dig, we need to get there. Now." He thought he was doing a good job of hiding the panic in his voice, but Felicity sensed it. She became more flushed with each passing minute. "We're almost there. Hang on Felicity." John's voice came from the front seat. This time she knew his statement was true. She heard the sirens and could see the police lights as they reflected on the ceiling. She was so tired.

Her head lulled in Oliver's arms. "Felicity… Felicity!" Oliver urged. She willed her eyes to open again. It may have been the hardest thing she had ever done. "I'm still here… I just… What are we doing? Where are we going?" Her eyes danced around again. "The hospital, remember?" "Oh…Okay…" she relaxed back into him.

"John!"

"Two more minutes!"

…


	2. Chapter 2

"Coffee?"

"No thanks, Dig."

Oliver took a seat next to John after having paced for an eternity. In the hour since they had taken Felicity back for surgery, the waiting room had become cramped. Friends had arrived as fast as they could. Barry had raced over as soon as he heard. Cisco and Caitlyn followed shortly. But now, everyone sat in complete silence as they awaited news.

Thea and Curtis came through the door.

"How is she?" Thea questioned. The only answer was a blank stare from Oliver and a slight shrug from Diggle.

Barry sat with an arm around Caitlyn, who held one of Cisco's hands. All three of them tried to force a 'hello' smile to welcome Curtis and Thea, but their cheeks were tearstained and their hearts ached.

Thea took an empty chair next to her brother.

"We got the press release taken care of… it was a shit-storm out there…" she trailed quietly. "Thank you, Thea." He responded half-heartedly, still staring into nothingness.

"Captain Lance is continuing an investigation. We don't know much yet." Thea offered again. He nodded.

"When will we know something?" Curtis asked Diggle quietly.

"I don't know, they said it would be about an hour… It's been an hour and ten." Curtis' face dropped.

"And there's nothing else we can do but wait?"

"Yeah, man. Wait and pray that she makes it through this." Curtis sighed.

Caitlyn whimpered. "It's okay, Cait." Barry offered as he wrapped an arm around her protectively. Another tear leaked down her cheek. It was a near miracle that she had made the drive from Central to Star. She was a better bet than Cisco, though. He wasn't always as outwardly emotional as Caitlyn, but he was much better friends with Felicity.

…

Fireworks exploded outside the window. Everyone jumped. What a crappy way to spend The Fourth of July. Oliver was supposed to be cuddled up with Felicity on the top of the old Queen Consolidated building watching them, not in a hospital waiting room.

…

Another thirty minutes passed. No one spoke. The fireworks had come and gone. A few whimpers were heard. Everyone remained still. It seemed like they were there for an eternity before a surgeon finally stepped through the door. His eyes were tired. His hands clean, but his scrubs bloodied. He removed a surgical mask from his face. The entire room held their breath as time stood still. Oliver stood. He rushed over to the doctor in anticipation.

"She's stable."

"What about th-"

Oliver was interrupted. "The baby seems fine for now."

Oliver raised a shaky hand to his face, rubbing his eyes. He collapsed to the ground in a squat as relief enveloped him.

The surgeon turned to face the room and continued: "We'll need to run more tests in the morning, but right now she needs to rest." He turned to Oliver once again.

"Oliver, you may see her, but the rest of them will need to wait until morning as well."

A collective sigh of relief. Oliver didn't move. Diggle appeared behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Oliver. Go. We'll be here." He stood and nodded at John as he followed the surgeon down the hall as tears welled in his eyes. As they reached the door to the recovery room he suddenly noticed the bloodstained scrubs that the surgeon wore. Looking down, he noticed that he was still covered in her blood himself. He tensed. "She's sedated, she won't be fully conscious." The doctor explained. The door opened. Suddenly none of that mattered.

She was laying in the hospital bed, a lightweight blanket pulled up to her chest. Two IVs came from the bend in her elbow. One connected to fluids, and the other was almost finished administering a blood transfusion, judging by what was left in the bag. A heart monitor was barely visible beneath the blanket, but the obvious beeps made themselves known.

Oliver thanked the doctor before making his way calmly to his wife's bedside.

"Hey Felicity…" he whispered as he gently planted a kiss on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered as she tried to fight the unconsciousness.

"Oliver?" she whimpered. Her voice cracked. A single tear escaped as he grabbed for her uninjured hand. "You just had to be the hero this time, huh?" He teased gently. The tiniest smile creeped across her cracked lips.

"I love you, Felicity. You're so strong. You're gonna be okay now."

"What about-" she barely squeezed out the words.

"The baby is fine too." He cut her off. "They're going to run some more tests in the morning. Get some rest. I'll be right here."


	3. Chapter 3

Some monitor beeped loudly. Repeatedly. Urgently. Oliver was awake instantly. He rushed to Felicity's side. Another alarm started going off. Oliver recognized the second set of beeps. Heart monitor.

"Felicity?" He urged gently, grabbing her uninjured hand in his and rubbing the back of it with his thumb.

She offered no response aside from fluttering eyes. The various beeping noises continued as Oliver looked around the room. As soon as he looked up, two nurses rushed into the room. They were followed by the same doctor that Oliver had talked with earlier. Only now, he was wearing a new, clean pair of scrubs and looked worried.

"What's going on?" the surgeon asked as the nurses took readings from the array of machines that Felicity and the baby were hooked up to.

"I- I don't- I don't know." Oliver struggled to gain his bearings. It had been a long night on barely any sleep and his mind was fuzzy with worry. "I was asleep in the chair and an alarm started going off. And then her heartrate spiked? She's not waking up."

A nurse looked up from where she had been taking readings on the other side of the bed. Oliver noted the concern in her face as she looked at the surgeon.

"Contractions." She stated firmly.

The doctor's face turned harsh, almost flat. The way that emergency responders get when something goes wrong. Oliver knew the look well. He had spent enough time in the field to know that look. "Get an obstetrician down here." The surgeon barked. "Now!"

The nurse ran out the door, following her orders.

"Mr. Queen, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to wait in the hall." Oliver stared at his wife.

"Mr. Queen!"

"Yes. Yes, okay." He responded as he made his way to the door.

A new doctor rushed in with the nurse that had been sent for him. He brushed past Oliver, urgently making his way to Felicity. Thankfully there was a window connecting the room to the hallway. Oliver stood, watching, eyebrows furrowed. The four medical personnel buzzed around the room, taking readings and assessing the situation. One of the nurses exited the room in a rush. Oliver thought she might be coming to talk to him, but instead, she made her way to the counter behind him and asked for something called Terbutaline.

The nurse received the medication from the woman behind the counter and darted back into the room. Oliver watched as they injected it into the vein in the elbow of Felicity's uninjured arm. He didn't understand what was going on. Everything was happening so fast. Was Felicity going into labor? What is Terbutaline? She was having contractions? She couldn't have the baby, not yet. It was still too early.

He turned to the counter behind him.

"What's Terbutaline?" He asked.

"The medication that nurse just requested?" the woman asked.

"Yes!" his insisted, "What is it? What does it do? What is it used for?"

"I'm so sorry Mayor Queen, but I am not at liberty to release information on patients."

His face was a mix of concern and anger, but his voice was flat. "Then don't tell me anything about the patient. Tell me about the medication. What is it for?"

"Mayor Queen…" the technician trailed.

"That is my wife in there!" he gestured to the room behind him. "We are expecting a baby and she was shot last night. We don't know who did it and we don't know why. I was told she was stable until all those alarms started going off. I need to know what's going on." He was angry now. "If you can't tell me what is happening to her, at least tell me what the drug is for." He barked.

"Terbutaline. It's used to stop preterm labor." The woman explained, realizing that he wasn't going to let this go.

"Will she be okay?"

"I don't know, you'll have to wait for the doctor. I'm sorry I can't tell you more."

Oliver made his way back to the window. Everyone in the room was standing still now, surrounding Felicity's bed. Oliver couldn't hear the machines beeping with the door closed, but he could just barely make see the readout on the heart monitor. It looked as if it had returned to normal. The doctors and nurses appeared less worried. He wanted to know what was going on. He wanted back in that room.

A light above the door started flashing red. The heart monitor spiked again. The same nurse as before made her way out the door. She ordered another dose of the same medication and reentered the room.

As the surgeon moved from where he had been adjusting the bandages on her shoulder, Oliver had a clear line of sight to Felicity. He could tell that she was conscious now. Her eyes floated from doctor to doctor as they buzzed around her. She was dripping sweat. Oliver could sense the panic in her mannerisms, even through a sheet of glass. He fiddled with the ring on his left hand, as he often did when he was worried. Felicity continued to look around the room as she received the second dose of medication. Her head turned toward the window and she locked eyes with Oliver. He put a hand on the glass instinctively before noticing a tear drip down her face. Or was that sweat? Either way, it was all he could do to keep himself from bursting into that room. He knew better, though. He knew that she was being taken care of. And no amount of worry that Oliver Queen- The Green Arrow, Mayor of Star City - could produce would help more than the treatment she was already receiving. So he stayed put, and he waited. Not patiently, more like worriedly, anxiously. But he waited nonetheless.

His hand remained on the glass as he turned to receive a report from the surgeon as he exited the room.

"How is she? How is the baby? Is everything okay? Can I go back in?" He grilled the doctor.

The surgeon adjusted his glasses and looked Oliver in the eye. He took a deep breath before beginning.


End file.
